moving to pollensa - with kid(s)?

[martint]

hello all,

my wife and I were very very taken with puerto pollensa when we visited last year (sadly were unable to manage a trip this year for a variety of reasons) and are tentatively considering whether there is any scope for us to escape the rat race and move out there. We have a three year old son and so one of our preliminary concerns is nursery/school provision. Can anyone with young children comment on what this is like and whether they would consider it to be a good place to raise children.

Also any do's and don'ts would be very welcome (no matter how basic!)- we are thinking along the lines of moving and starting some sort of business (as sadly we are some way off retirement age and not of independant means!)

It may be a pie in the sky scheme but I would really like to look into whether we could do this so all advice/comments/pointers/contacts welcomed.

Martin

 

[JH02JLH]

Hi Martin and welcome to the forum,

In your post you don't say whether last year was your first visit to PP or whether you are a regular visitor...

If it was your first visit I would try and see the resort at different times of the year before making such a big step.

I'm no expert, but I know there are a couple of members on here who have made the move successfully and might be able to give you advice.

I don't want to appear negative, and far be it for me to tell you what to do, but if it were me, I would think very carefully and do lots and lots of research before deciding (which you're probably doing already).

What sort of business did you have in mind? Would you rent or buy? Property prices are very high in this part of Mallorca and like loads of other holiday makers I've gazed at villas through estate agents' windows and dreamed of living in Mallorca for good.

But...this was something I talked to my husband about this summer as we were lying by the pool, and my answer was a resounding "no".

I would miss my family and friends, I would find it hard starting and running a business in a strange country with my complete lack of Spanish. And working in the heat in the summer would be difficult.

There would be so many things I would personally miss but that's me.

Hopefully some experienced members of the site will respond to your plea for advice and will give you their valuable wisdom.

Good luck,
Jane

 

[pollensa]

As Jane has suggested, I would definitely try visiting at other times of year - Nov, Feb/March etc. - it is very quiet & above all start learning Spanish. At the same time be aware that the main language spoken is Mallorquin which is a dialect of Catalan. But I can only speak from someone who has a UK business focussing on the area & who visits a few times a year (next trip starts tomorrow ....)

Why don't you arrange a trip next Spring & try & meet up with any forum members who have moved out.

 

[martint]

thanks for the replies, and a bit of negativity (i.e. reality checking) is welcome because we do need to make a sensible decision.

we have some ideas for a business though we are also racking our brains for alternatives/additional ways to generate income..... Obviously we need to find our own way of supporting ourselves. We would have some cash from the sale of our house, but not enough to buy a property - enough to fund a business venture with some emergency funds though....

Learning spanish would definitely be a priority (I can speak some basic spanish but would certainly need to substantially improve on that) and noted re the dialect spoken locally... realistically I think it would probably take at least a year for us to be ready to make any sort of move so we have some time to focus on getting prepared....

I would still be interested to hear from any other people with children who have actually made the move, especially re schools etc.

good advice re visiting out of season, thanks - and I think we will look into whether we can do this around springtime.

 

[its cd]

p221.ezboard.com/fpollens...opic[/link]

Martin

i remembered a really old post from people who were living in PP with Babies ...... who by now must be about your boys age

I have truied to send a link but fear I may have messed up

the post is called "any babies " and it is on about page 6 of living and working

maybe you could message them via the ezin board ( instructions re how to do that on the same post )

good luck

 

[frito]

Early Years/nursery provision in Puerto Pollensa and Pollensa is good.
Go back a few years in the UK, before Ofsted got its hands on nursery education, and you have what exists at present. It's hands-on, creative and "fun".
The infant/junior school provision in the Port is good, only held back by the overcrowded facilities, but there is a new school just being finished at the other end of town, which everybody is looking forward to.
There are quite a number of English-speaking young people in the schools in Puerto Pollensa, so they don't stand out.
If you talk to the majority of English young people who are being educated in the port, they seem articulate and confident and speak about their schools positively, and about their teachers with a genuine affection.

Sorry, I'm beginning to sound like an education consultant!

I hope this is useful.

Frito.